As final voting for the 2026 Emmy Awards officially opens, Hollywood is buzzing with anticipation over the historic milestones within reach. The season is stacked with some heavy-hitters gunning for record-breaking wins in the Emmys. Awards pundit and analyst Clayton Davis of Variety has highlighted a staggering slate of 25 records that could tumble this season, with several iconic and breakout stars positioned to etch their names into the Emmy history books.

From beloved veterans tackling career-defining late-stage roles like Harrison Ford to rising stars making unprecedented waves like Zendaya, here is a look at the major contenders analyzed by Davis and the monumental records they are poised to break.

Ever since transitioning to major television work, Hollywood legend Harrison Ford has proven that his magnetic screen presence translates just as powerfully to the small screen as it does to blockbuster cinema. According to Davis's analysis, if Harrison Ford wins the Best Supporting Actor for Apple TV+'s Shrinking, the 84-year-old would receive his first Emmy, only months after winning the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award. He will also break the record for the oldest winner in the category, which is currently held by Henry Winkler (72 in 2018), by twelve years.

Harrison Ford makes history by being the oldest in his category, while someone will do the same by being the youngest in her category.

Already a historic force in Emmy history as the youngest two-time lead acting winner, Zendaya continues to push the boundaries of prestige television. Clayton Davis notes in his Variety report that at 30 years and two weeks old, Zendaya would become the youngest performer in history to win three lead drama Emmys if she wins the award this year for Euphoria. 

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When Bill Cosby, the youngest to win three Emmys, claimed his third in 1968, he was thirty years and ten months old. She would also be the first woman to get three or more since Edie Falco in 2003 and the fifth following Barbara Bain, Michael Learned, Tyne Daly, and Falco. She already holds the record for the youngest winner in the category (24, in 2020).

A previous Emmy winner for his unforgettable work in The Americans, Matthew Rhys continues to choose complex, high-caliber television projects that keep him in the upper echelon of dramatic actors. Clayton Davis points out that if he wins for Widow's Bay, he will become the first man to win lead performance Emmys in both comedy and drama since Carroll O'Connor in 1989.

Davis also observes that it will be truly something if Rhys wins for both his nominations - Widow's Bay and The Beast in Me. There has never been an actor who won two Emmys for lead acting in one year. Rhys accomplishes something entirely unheard of if he sweeps both. He will be the first man to achieve the trinity of limited wins, comedy, and drama. Barbara Stanwyck, who won the "comedy" trophy in a genre-blind 1961 category, is the only performer to have won in all three categories.

Another milestone will be if he and his current partner, Keri Russell, who has been nominated for the lead in The Diplomat, win an award each; then they would become the only third couple to do so after Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne (1965, both for The Magnificent Yankee) and William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett (1986, both for St. Elsewhere).

Every Emmy season brings a breakout star who captures the zeitgeist, and Connor Storrie is positioned as one of the most exciting names to watch in Clayton Davis's analysis. Storrie, a 26-year-old SNL breakout, would shatter Justin Timberlake's record of 28 to become the youngest winner in the Guest Actor, Comedy category's history if he prevails.

As final voting gets underway, the 2026 Emmy race is shaping up to be one of the most historically significant in recent memory. Whether veteran icons like Harrison Ford and Matthew Rhys cement their legendary status or generation-defining talents like Zendaya and Connor Storrie rewrite the record books, the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards are guaranteed to leave an indelible mark on television history.

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Who do you think has the best shot at creating history at the Emmys among the four? Do let us know int